Our grandfather, Jose Atilio Merlina
Godoy, passed away on September 26th, 2014. He was a highly
decorated Brigadier General of the Venezuelan Air Force. To us he was our
grandpa, our abuelito, but to others he was a great mentor, flight instructor,
father, husband, cousin, and friend. He was very caring and loyal, his
character that of an honorable man, and he lived a very fulfilling life until
he developed one of the most debilitating diseases: Parkinson. As the diseased
advanced, his freedom to move, to walk, to talk, to eat, to be who he was,
slowly got taken away from him. Nonetheless, he fought till the very end. He
did not want to give up. His spirit was as strong as ever, and in his plight he
never lost that spark that characterized him.

After the loss of his daughter in
2008, he took the responsibility of providing for her two children, which
caused him financial distress. Grandpa was the primary provider. As a retired
officer, he had a life pension. However, the economic situation in Venezuela
has been deteriorating throughout the years, and in 2014 he has struggled with
the Venezuelan government and its entities to receive payment. His life savings
have been completely depleted, and despite the situation, he did not qualify
for financial aid from the U.S government, where he has been residing for the
past 10 years. For those reasons our grandmother, Beatriz Merlina, is now
facing a very uncertain future, and the passing of my grandpa at such a time
only intensifies the situation.

We are now trying to plan his
memorial and funeral and we want to honor his memory as best as we can, but
unfortunately our family is going through very difficult financial times. A lot
of you have reached out to us for comfort, for support, for help and we are
immensely grateful. Still, we set up this page for our grandmother, to help
release a little of the burden. Any donation that you could make would help us
exponentially and would be greatly appreciated. If you can’t donate, please
help spread the word. Any little bit helps. Thoughts and prayers will be much
appreciated as well.

- See more at: http://www.youcaring.com/memorial-fundraiser/funeral-fund-for-gb-jose-atilio-merlina-godoy-/240354#sthash.aEbj98T9.dpuf